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CONNECTIONS TO CHEMSITRY
Why do onions make you cry?
It's not actually the strong smell that makes us cry, it's the gas that is released from the onion when we cut into it.
The onion contains oil that has sulphur trioxide, SO3(g) in it. The sulphur makes our noses and eyes irritated. When you cut into the onion, a gas called Propanethiol S-oxide, mixes with the enzymes in the onion and releases a passive sulphur compound. When the passive sulphur compound meets with the water produced by tear ducts in our eye lids, it then produces sulphuric acid. In response to the acid, we blink, producing tears which flushes out the sulphuric acid.
Because our hands are filled with the sulfur and oils from cutting the onion, it makes the situation worse by rubbing your eyes!
What does onions making us cry, have to do with chemisty?
TIP
Erin Matz Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009
2
3(g)
2 4(aq)
SO + H O(1)---> H SO
EQUATION
http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/onion.asp http://books.google.com/books?id=LupAi35QjhoC&pg=PA239&lpg=PA239&dq=Equation+for+why+do+onions+make+us+cry%3F&source=bl&ots=INhIANL65d&sig=X8dMxriNNrZVbFjQWaIdz2TfGeQ&hl=en&ei=NtfwSse8HNHglAeEl-nqCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CBYQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=&f=false
CITED RESOURCES
